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The jury found that some Samsung smartphones and tablets had violated Apple patents covering things like the slide-to-unlock feature, which opens the phone’s features to users. The bulk of the damages — $99 million — were for a patent that covered a method for so-called quick links.

Non-practicing entities, also known as patent-assertion entities, are companies that own the patent rights for products they do not manufacture or use. They make money primarily by suing other companies for patent infringement. IPNav, Erich Spangenberg’s company, has been the most active of these firms.